Knitted fabric



July 8, 1941.

Filed July 25, 1939 7 MEX 2'02; f MMM/VLJMYA k, By 7W W.L'. SMITH, JR 2,248,900 V Patented July 8, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT" OFFICE KNITTED FABRIC William L. Smith, Jr., Pawtucket, R. 1;, assignor to Hemphill Company, Central Falls, R. 1., a corporation of Massachusetts Application July 25, 1939, Serial No. 286,412

6 Claims.

This case involves an invention in knitted stocking tops having elastic incorporated therein and where it is desired to provide a relatively great amount of holding power in such a stocking top knitted to serve as a garter.

In the figures of drawing:

Fig. 1 is a conventional showing of a section of fabric knitted in accordance with one form of the invention;

Fig.2 is a detail of needles and yarn feeding means showing the manner of feeding elastic yarns to selected needles;

Fig. 3 is a conventional showing of a stocking to which the invention has been applied.

Preferably, but not necessarily, the invention may be applied to fabrics or stocking tops such as have been described and shown in St. Pierre Patent #2,131,720. In that patent elastic yarn has been incorporated by knitting the same independently and at virtually every course of the fabric. There results a very satisfactory garter effect from knitting in that manner, theeffect being more or less due to possible stretch of the may be at spaced wales such as at every other Wale, every third, fourth, or fifth w-ale, etc. In certain instances elastic incorporated throughout the fabric at non-adjacent courses might serve more effectively to provide a satisfactory garter effect if an additional elastic yarn were to be plated at some or all of the courses in which the elastic was incorporated.

Referring to Fig. l, fabric such as shown in the St. Pierre patent, supra, is conventionally shown, greatly enlarged, and has a selvage in which one or more courses of elastic yarn I are to be fed to alternateneedles and thereafter cast off as a non-elastic yarn 2 is fed to allneedles. This provides aselvage in a manner known to those skilled in the art. Other selvages may be employed or the fabric may be provided with 'a welted edge if so desired. Throughout the rest fabric in both directions and tothe relatively I large quantity of elastic incorporated under a light tension, but in a manner so that when-worn, the top will encircle the leg of the wearer comfortably but firmly. In some instances it is desirable to provide additional holding power or garter effect without materially increasing the tension in the elastic.

To accomplish this purpose applicant has, at spaced courses, plated or otherwise fed an additional elastic yarn so that one of the elastic yarns thus incorporated will stand out or project inwardly at the inner side of the fabric and will tend to grip the leg of the wearer thus serv ing to prevent slipping. The additional elastic may be of the same type or may be heavier than that fed throughout the entire garter portion of the top. Covered elastic or so-called raw rubber may be used for either one or both the elastic yarns. According to one preferred form of the invention the additional elastic yarn may be fed or plated at every fourthcourse of elastic, but it is to be understood that results are forthcoming when this method of incorporation of the additional yarn is resorted to at closer or at less frequent intervals. While in the preferred embodiment of the invention the elastic yarn incorporated more or less continuously throughout the fabric is knitted independently,

it may be incorporated in other ways such as by.

knitting with a non-elastic yarn or by so-called inlaying. The incorporation of such elastic of the fabric, the elastic yarn is fed to alternate needles and is knitted independently while the yarn 2 is fed toall needles, this not being described in further detail here since full description is available in the patent to which reference has been made. In courses A, B and C the elastic yarn I has been fed alone. In the fourth course of elastic D an additional elastic yarn 3 is fed so that this course contains roughly twice as much bulk of elastic as those courses A, B and C. The initial or selvage course has also been illustrated herein as containing both of these elastic yarns, that being optionally permissible. Courses A, B, C and D constitute one cycle and thereafter the cycle is to be repeated so that at each fourth course the elastic yarn is knitted or otherwise incorporated, the additional elastic will be introduced.

Referring to Fig. 2, needles are shown of which those indicated at 4 are selected to rise higher than needles at 5. Needles such as those at 4 are referred to herein as alternate needles whereas those at 5 may be termed intermediate. A yarn feeding lever is so controlled by mechanism available on these machines to feed elastic yarn such as the yarn i. Preferably the control for this lever 6 is such that at the start of knitting the garter top said lever will be moved to feeding position and will remain there until the top is finished. A second similar lever l is operated to feeds. second elastic yarn such as the yarn 3, these levers being so positioned that they feed their yarns to hooks of alternate needles, but in such a manner as to pass behind the hooks or shanks of intermediate needles. Furthermore, lever I is so controlled by suitable means operating in properly timed sequence to withdraw the yarn 3 and to insert it to be taken by the needles at courses D only, or at such courses as desired.

For knitting a fabric as herein described the yarn 2 is preferably knitted at a separate feeding station, see Patent #2,131,720; Obviously variations in machine structure may be apparent to those skilled in the art and thus the result obtained by methods deviating slightly from that precisely described at this point, but still falling within the scope of the invention as originally conceived.

In Fig. 3 a half hose has been conventionally shown having a simulated rib top 8 knitted of fabric similar to that shown in detail in Fig. 1, or by some other method by means of which elastic is permanently incorporated to render the stocking self-supporting, a leg 9 and foot l having a heel H and toe l2. Vertical lines l3 will be conventionally of ribs resulting from incorporation of the elastic under tension whereby the fabric is drawn to them laterally. Horizontal lines l4 indicate spaced courses at which additional elastic has been incorporated as at the courses D for the purpose herein described. Obviously these courses D are to be spaced sufiiciently so that they serve independently to-indent the flesh on'the leg of the wearer slightly, but

enough to increase the holding power of the,

garter top. Enough of these additional courses are to be employed to bring about the requisite amount of holding power, this depending to some extent on the tension and size of the elastic, and upon the type ofstocking, viz., whether the stocking is to be worn as an anklet or half hose. The invention is set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A knitted stocking top having an elastic yarn incorporated therein under tension and in a manner to draw the fabric wales together laterally to serve as a garter, said elastic being incorporated throughout a plurality of courses at some only of which an additional strand of elastice is also incorporated in like manner.

2. A knitted stocking top having non-elastic yarn and elastic yarn, the elastic yarn being incorporated at spaced wales and in a plurality of courses, and at spaced ones of these courses a second elastic yarn being incorporated in addition to that first mentioned and in the same way so that the second yarn plates over the first.

3. In a knitted stocking top having non-elastic and elastic yarn, the elastic yarn beingknitted at spaced wales and in a plurality of courses of the top, a second elastic yarn beingknitted in addition to andin the same manner as that first mentioned and at spaced ones only of those courses, whereby projecting ridges of elastic are caused to appear at the inner face of the fabric to increase the holding power or garter effect.

4. A knitted stocking top having elastic and non-elastic yarns incorporated-therein, the elastice yarn being incorporated by knitting it at alternate wales in spaced courses and the nonelastic yarn at all wales, at some but not all of said elastic yarn courses there being an additional elastic strand similarly incorporated so as to plate over the first mentioned elastic yarn and to present projecting ridges internally of the, fabric to increase its holding or garter efiect.

5. In a plain knitted stocking top courses of non-elastic yarn in which an elastic yarn has been incorporated at spaced wales and at spaced ones only of these courses containing elastic yarn, there being an additional elastic yarn similarly introduced into the fabric to plate over the first elastic yarn.

6. A method of knitting a stocking top including the steps of incorporating an elastic yarn under tension at spaced wales and at some of the courses in said top and at relatively widely spaced ones of those courses in which elastic yarn is incorporated, introducing an additional elastic strand similarly introduced into the fabric to plate the first elastic yarn at those spaced courses only.

WILLIAM L. SMITH, JR. 

